Based on the FY 2025-26 disclosure · 18,544 total records · ranked by total compensation
The highest-paid person on Nova Scotia's FY 2025-26 Public Sector Compensation Disclosure is Donald Robichaud at Nova Scotia Health Authority, with total compensation of $551,485.
Across the top 25, total compensation summed to about $9,986,329, drawn from 9 employers across 4 sectors. The average top-25 figure was about $399,453. Figures are total amounts actually paid during the fiscal year — salary plus overtime, lump-sum payouts, retroactive pay and severance — so a one-time payment can put someone at the top of the list for a single year.
| # | Name | Employer | Sector | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Donald Robichaud | Nova Scotia Health Authority | Health | $551,485 |
| 2 | Nicole Boutilier | Nova Scotia Health Authority | Health | $508,268 |
| 3 | Ross Maclelland | Nova Scotia Health Authority | Health | $492,370 |
| 4 | David Anderson | Dalhousie University | Universities & Colleges | $471,823 |
| 5 | Craig Midgen | Izaak Walton Killam Health Centre | Health | $450,156 |
| 6 | Tara Sampalli | Dalhousie University | Universities & Colleges | $439,987 |
| 7 | Wanda Costen | Dalhousie University | Universities & Colleges | $417,003 |
| 8 | David Dingwall | Cape Breton University | Universities & Colleges | $404,003 |
| 9 | Kimberley Brooks | Dalhousie University | Universities & Colleges | $403,023 |
| 10 | Krista Jangaard | Izaak Walton Killam Health Centre | Health | $399,037 |
| 11 | Andrew Hakin | St Francis Xavier University | Universities & Colleges | $398,432 |
| 12 | Chris Browner | Nova Scotia Health Authority | Health | $386,772 |
| 13 | Jeffrey Hennessy | Acadia University | Universities & Colleges | $386,616 |
| 14 | Pavel Boubnov | Nova Scotia Legal Aid Commission | Government Agencies | $384,185 |
| 15 | Christopher McMaster | Dalhousie University | Universities & Colleges | $376,854 |
| 16 | Kathryn McFadden | Izaak Walton Killam Health Centre | Health | $374,460 |
| 17 | Todd Howlett | Nova Scotia Health Authority | Health | $368,407 |
| 18 | Aaron Smith | Nova Scotia Health Authority | Health | $361,311 |
| 19 | Cheryl Pugh | Nova Scotia Health Authority | Health | $358,661 |
| 20 | Gregory Hughes | Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation | Crown Corporations | $355,380 |
| 21 | Tobias Kollmann | Dalhousie University | Universities & Colleges | $348,157 |
| 22 | Robert Summerby-Murray | Saint Mary's University | Universities & Colleges | $346,325 |
| 23 | Alice Aiken | Dalhousie University | Universities & Colleges | $339,473 |
| 24 | Christine Chambers | Dalhousie University | Universities & Colleges | $333,127 |
| 25 | Kevin Orrell | Cape Breton University | Universities & Colleges | $331,014 |
Nova Scotia's Public Sector Compensation Disclosure Act (2010) requires each publicly funded body to publish the name and total compensation of everyone it paid $100,000 or more in the fiscal year ending March 31. It reaches the broader public sector: Nova Scotia Health and the IWK, the seven regional centres for education and the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial, every university and the Nova Scotia Community College, Crown corporations and agencies, and funded non-profits such as nursing homes.
What it does not cover is the core civil service: provincial departments do not file under the Act, so deputy ministers and departmental staff never appear. Nor are job titles published — the disclosure gives a name, an employer and a figure, and nothing else.
Across all 18,544 people disclosed in FY 2025-26, the average total compensation is $121,928. The #1 figure is roughly 5× that average. The top of the list is dominated by university presidents, hospital executives and salaried physicians — the bodies with the largest budgets and the most senior clinical and academic roles.
The $100,000 threshold has not changed since the Act was passed in 2010 and is not indexed to inflation, so the number of people disclosed tends to grow with ordinary wage settlements rather than with real pay increases. The figures exclude the employer-paid share of pensions and benefits, and because they are amounts paid rather than annual salaries, year-over-year comparisons for an individual should be made with caution. Read more in our Nova Scotia Health & IWK and university salaries articles.
Data source: Nova Scotia Public Sector Compensation Disclosure. This site is an independent tool and is not affiliated with the Government of Nova Scotia. Data is compiled from the statements each public sector body files under the Public Sector Compensation Disclosure Act (2010), published together at novascotia.ca. Coverage is the BROADER PUBLIC SECTOR — health authorities, regional centres for education, universities and colleges, crown corporations and publicly funded non-profits — and does NOT include the core civil service, so provincial government departments are absent. Figures are total compensation paid during the fiscal year ending March 31 (salary plus overtime, severance, retroactive pay and vacation payouts) above a $100,000 threshold. Always verify individual records against the official source.